Letters to the Editor — July 25, 2023
The Issue: Con Edison’s plan to hike prices by up to 9% next month with further increases to follow.
The ways in which the Democrats zapped New York go beyond sophomoric energy policy (“How Greens Zapped NY,” Editorial, July 22).
They include congestion pricing, increases in crime and an education implosion. All have contributed to population decrease. All of these factors are caused by planning without understanding and foresight.
Instinctive political decisions plus uninformed politicians equals state failure.
I challenge any New York politician to explain why the cost of energy is going to increase to the point where New Yorkers won’t be able to afford turning on a light.
And clueless voters follow the bloc. The blind follow the blind.
Carve New York City out as its own state to fail without taking down the rest of us.
James Foley
Airmont
Gov. Hochul wants to get rid of all gas stoves to help with climate change, and now Con Edison is raising its electric rates.
So those who have the electric stoves to help with the environment won’t be able to afford to use them.
Does anyone ever look at the negatives when they make decisions for the future of our planet? I think not.
Jimmy Durda
The Bronx
The Con Ed hikes are clearly a byproduct of government policies gone awry. The assault on fracking and other fossil fuels led by misguided New York Democrats intent on replacing them with green energy has been a failure.
A whopping 21% of the average bill is going toward property taxes, which is another abject failure by the state.
Green energy is decades away from being viable and will in no way compensate for the loss of oil and gas.
The result will be more increases in energy prices and taxes, driving people out of New York and further eroding the tax base. Something has to give because at some point there will be no one left to give.
Peter Kelly, Hazlet, NJ
We are doomed with Con Ed rates as high as the moon, congestion pricing looming, the MTA implementing a price increase, weed shops on almost each and every block, kids with guns, immigration issues, crime in subways and homelessness issues.
The Con Ed rates will be unaffordable. How are we supposed to pay for higher bills? Maybe I’ll start selling mangoes like the ladies at the Staten Island Ferry for additional income.
Harve Kaye
Brooklyn
An average Con Ed electricity customer will see a rate increase of roughly 15% spaced out over three years, and a gas customer will see an increase of roughly 20%.
These increases come with a range of programs to minimize the impact on New Yorkers who can least afford them.
The investments these rate increases pay for are critical. The Earth just experienced its hottest week ever recorded. So-called 100-year storms have wreaked havoc on communities across New York and the entire tri-state area.
Extreme weather creates mounting pressure on the electric grid that state lawmakers are rightly trying to address and that Con Edison is getting ahead of to ensure the continued safety and reliability of our energy system.
We cannot do nothing and hope for the best. Our new investments will help fortify the grid and make way for clean energy that ultimately will be more affordable for all New Yorkers in the future.
Jen Hensley
Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs
Con Edison
Manhattan
Con Ed claims that the biggest obstacle regarding its exorbitant rates is the property tax rate in New York. Sounds legit.
But why does Con Edison, which provides a vital service that every single New Yorker needs, have to pay property tax? Billionaire private citizen James Dolan, owner of Madison Square Garden, does not pay property tax on MSG. There’s something very wrong with this picture.
Perhaps our local government needs to rethink this. If we were to offer Con Edison that break, it would be afforded the opportunity to be more competitive in its pricing.
Kreg Ramone
Manhattan
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